f ‘You Can Never Kill Me’: Racism and resilience in Hip Hop

Focusing on two aspects of the experience of African Americans – racism and resilience – this article explores themes in fourteen Hip Hop songs published between 1989 and 2016, selected from the website, Ranker. This website provides a forum for users to share, discuss and vote on Hip Hop songs that relate to racism. A content analysis of the song lyrics reveals three themes related to racism: (1) law enforcement, (2) penal system and (3) poverty. African Americans are resilient in three ways: through racial pride, racial harmony and through a resolve to remain strong. Hip Hop artists encourage resilience through resistance in the form of political activism, through acknowledging individual and collective worth and by envisioning (and working towards) racial harmony.